The present invention relates to a method of building up a wireless network system and wireless transmission equipment, and more particularly to a method of building up a wireless network system and wireless transmission equipment for specifying the unique network ID, and defining the wireless transmission equipment belonging to the same wireless network system.
Hitherto, for building up a wireless network system, especially for building up a wireless network system in a plurality of wireless networks overlapped in space, a method of building up a wireless network system by connecting only preliminarily defined wireless transmission equipment has been executed.
In this conventional method, generally, a network ID (strictly speaking, network system ID) is specified in the wireless network system to be built up, and the network ID information is fixed and set in all wireless transmission equipment for building up the wireless network system, and the wireless network system identified by each network ID is operated.
According to this method, however, the wireless network system can be built up only in the wireless transmission equipment having the same fixed network ID.
It was therefore a major hindrance when desired to extend the wireless network system by arbitrarily adding wireless transmission equipment to the wireless network system, including wireless transmission equipment having different network ID or having no network ID.
As one of the solving methods of the problem, conventionally, the network ID was set by offline operation (including physical means) in the wireless transmission equipment to be extended.
A sufficient solving method of the problem is to design a sufficient system from the beginning so that new extension of wireless transmission equipment may not be required, that is, in the wireless network system to be operated, the number of required wireless transmission equipment is preliminarily predicted from the operation records, and the maximum number of wireless transmission equipment according to the prediction is prepared in batch.
Recently, wireless transmission equipment not set in the network ID are prepared from the beginning, and a wireless network system is built up arbitrarily by using a plurality of such wireless transmission equipment.
In the prior art, however, with an intention of extension of wireless network system, it was required to set the network ID by offline operation (including physical means) in the wireless transmission equipment to be extended, or use a device for rewriting the network ID, but generally such setting work procedure was extremely complicated including the set of using the rewriting device, and accuracy was demanded in such setting operation, and it was extremely difficult for general users not familiar with such setting job to execute the setting procedure.
If the network ID is set properly by a skilled operator, in actual operation afterwards, the set network ID may be erased due to trouble of the wireless transmission equipment in the network system.
In such an event, ultimately, the general user not familiar with the setting job is demanded to set the network ID, or a device for rewriting the network ID easily is demanded.
Or, in the wireless transmission equipment not provided with the means for defining or setting the network ID from the beginning, such network ID setting method was impossible.
In the method of preparing a maximum number of wireless transmission equipment according to the prediction from the operation records in batch in the wireless network system to be managed, a much greater number of wireless transmission equipment must be prepared from the beginning as compared with the quantity required initially, and the economical problem was serious.
In the method of building up the wireless network system arbitrarily by using a plurality of wireless transmission equipment not set in the network ID from the beginning, there was a possibility of incorporation of an unwelcome wireless transmission equipment contrary to the intention of the user into the wireless network in operation. Such possibility may lead to the risk of invasion of an ill-willed third party into the wireless network system.
The invention is devised in the light of such problems in the conventional method of building a wireless network system, and it is hence an object thereof to present a method of building a wireless network system capable of specifying the unique network ID in the wireless network system, easily defining a wireless transmission equipment in a same network system, and validating at high reliability.
The first invention is method of building a wireless network system using wireless transmission equipment comprising a mutual connection step of mutually connecting with another station or control station by exchanging first validation information including network ID (identification information unique to a wireless network system) specified in a wireless network system, a new participation step of newly participating in a wireless network system by receiving second validation information including the network ID, a data input and output step of sending and receiving data together with management information including the network ID, and a network ID updating step of registering or erasing the network ID, further comprising:
a step of mutually connecting with the wireless transmission equipment of another station or control station registering the network ID of the existing wireless network system, by executing the mutual connection step after setting the network ID of the wireless transmission equipment of the own station in non-registration state, and
a step of registering the network ID in the wireless transmission equipment of the own station by receiving the second validation information from the wireless transmission equipment of another station or control station, wherein
the wireless transmission equipment of the own station is subscribed in the existing wireless network system. By doing in this manner, by the network ID unique to the corresponding wireless network system, a plurality of individually independent wireless network systems can be built up as being overlapped in space (using the same wireless network system).
The second invention is the method of building a wireless network system of claim 1, further comprising:
a step of mutually connecting with the wireless transmission equipment of another station of which network ID is in non-registration state, by executing the mutual connection step after setting the network ID of the wireless transmission equipment of the own station in non-registration state, and
a step of transmitting the management information to the wireless transmission equipment of another station after newly setting the network ID of the new wireless network system as the own station becomes the control station, wherein
the new wireless network system is built up, starting from the wireless transmission equipment of the own station. By doing in this manner, a new wireless network system can be easily built up by mutually connecting a plurality of wireless transmission equipment not having registered network ID, and assigning each one of the plurality of wireless transmission equipment with the same new wireless network ID. Further when extending an existing wireless network system, the wireless transmission equipment to be newly connected can automatically acquire the network ID unique to the wireless network system from the partner station of mutual connection.
The third invention is the method of building a wireless network system of claim 1 or 2, further comprising:
a step of mutually connecting with the wireless transmission equipment of another station by executing the mutual connection step, and
a step of transmitting the second validation information to the wireless transmission equipment of another station from the wireless transmission equipment of the own station, wherein
the own station already subscribed in the existing wireless network becomes the control station having the wireless transmission equipment, and subscribes the wireless transmission equipment of another station of which network ID is in non-registration state into the existing wireless network system. By doing in this manner, an arbitrary wireless transmission equipment in the wireless network system can be used as the control station, and the validation information can be presented.
The forth invention is the method of building a wireless network system of claim 1 or 3, further comprising:
a step of setting a reset request in the wireless transmission equipment of the own station, and
a step of stopping wireless transmission of the wireless transmission equipment of the own station, wherein
the wireless transmission equipment of the own station subscribed in the existing wireless network system is withdrawn from the existing wireless network system. By doing in this manner, only by deleting the network ID unique to the wireless network system being registered from the wireless transmission equipment as a constituent element of the wireless network system, the wireless transmission equipment can be automatically removed from the wireless network system. At this point, this wireless transmission equipment can be transferred to the constituent element of another wireless network system, so that the structure of the wireless network system can be designed and executed arbitrarily.
The fifth invention is a wireless transmission equipment comprising a wireless process unit, a data convert unit for converting the data with management information including network ID (identification information unique to a wireless network system) for transmitting and receiving in the wireless process unit, an external device for sending and receiving data through the data convert unit and an interface, a control unit for controlling the operation of each unit, and exchanging first validation information including the network ID used in mutual connection with the wireless transmission equipment of another station or control station, second validation information including the network ID used when subscribing to the wireless network system corresponding to the network ID, and the management information, with the data convert unit, a memory for registering the network ID by the access from the control unit, and a reset switch for storing the command for erasing the network ID from the memory, further comprising:
mutually connection means for mutually connecting with another station or control station by exchanging the first validation information,
means for registering the network ID in the memory, by receiving the second validation information from another station or control station by the network ID is not registered in the own station but is registered in another station or control station, with the own station being mutually connected to another station or control station by the mutual connection means,
means for transmitting the management information including the newly set network ID to the wireless transmission equipment of another station after newly setting the unique network ID in a new wireless network system, when the own station is mutually connected to another station or control station by the mutually connection means, and the network ID is not registered either in the own station or in another station or control station,
means for transmitting the second validation information to the wireless transmission equipment of another station from the wireless transmission equipment of the own station when the own station is the control station, if the own station is mutually connected to another station or control station by the mutual connection means, and the network ID is registered in the own station and is not registered in another station or control station, and
means of receiving the management information when the management information is transmitted from the control station, and then returning the response to the received management information to the control station, when not mutually connected to another station or control station by the mutual connection means, and the network ID is registered in the own station, and the instruction of erasing the network ID from the memory (reset request) is not set in the reset switch. By doing in this manner, by registering the network ID unique to the corresponding wireless network system in the memory of the wireless transmission equipment, the wireless transmission equipment can be used as a constituent element of individually independent wireless network systems overlapped in space (using the same wireless network system).
Or by mutually connecting a plurality of wireless transmission equipment not registering wireless network ID, and registering a same new wireless network ID in each memory of the a plurality of wireless transmission equipment, wireless transmission equipment capable of building up a new wireless network system easily can be presented
By the means of registering the network ID unique to the wireless network system acquired automatically from the partner station of mutual connected, in the memory of a wireless transmission equipment to be connected newly, wireless transmission equipment capable of extending an existing wireless network system easily can be presented.
When used as arbitrary constituent elements in a wireless network system, wireless transmission equipment capable of becoming the control station for distributing validation information can be presented.
The sixth invention is the wireless transmission equipment of claim 1, further comprising:
means for erasing the network ID from the memory when not mutually connected to another station or control station by the mutual connection means, and the network ID is registered in the own station, and the reset request is set in the reset switch, and
means of stopping wireless transmission of the own station. By doing in this manner, only by eliminating the network ID unique to the wireless network system being registered, from the memory of the wireless transmission equipment already set as constituent element of wireless network system, the wireless transmission equipment can be automatically removed from the wireless network system. And at this moment this wireless transmission equipment can be transferred to a constituent element of another wireless network system, so that the wireless transmission equipment capable of designing the construction of the wireless network system freely can be presented.